Wednesday, 14 April 2010

I sent my spies along to the Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall forum last night, and here are the highlights:

1. There are proposals (but nothing written or concrete) to erect two large towers in the middle of the Vauxhall roundabout. I think that these are planned for the section where the advertising hoarding is currently placed, bounding Parry Street and Bondway, and looking on to the wrong side of St George Wharf, as below. Consultation will take place in May, and I'll try to obtain more info. but this is all I have for now:

2. There is some concern that the long-time-planned Thames Water Tideway project will need an area the size of two football pitches (or maybe slightly less) to go tunnelling under the Thames to extend London's sewerage capability. This will be a London-wide project and there will need to be holes all over the place, but we've no more details on potential sites in Vauxhall just yet.

3. Kate 'I have a splendid majority' Hoey was jumpy about the planned KOV hustings on 29th April 2010 (put the date in your diary), but relieved when it was explained that these would be local hustings, rather than national hustings! There should be a chance to quiz candidates from Princes and Oval wards about their plans for the area. It should be a good evening, and KOV is usually generous with provision of biscuits.

4. The Cinema Museum have suggested erecting a giant see-through Charlie Chaplin model (similar to the one currently in their museum here) and have proposed several sites in Kennington where this might be possible so that the legacy of Chaplin in the area is not forgotten.

5. The Onionshed have an ambitious plan to Beautify the Beaufoy site by asking residents to adopt a bag of soil and grow things. More info. here and some photos here. It's not clear whether or not they've gained permission to access the site (or whether this will interfere with the "advanced stage" Lambeth school proposal, but why let such a small obstacle get in the way? I'm presuming that the Lambeth Regeneration department wouldn't stand in the way of Lambeth Council's Green Community Champions. Here's hoping for some guerrilla-vegetable growing action :-)